13 Morning Sickness Remedies

Doctors aren’t entirely sure why so-called “morning sickness” occurs during pregnancy. It may have developed as a way to keep mothers-to-be from eating foods that could be possibly harmful to the baby. It may also be from hormonal changes during pregnancy. But what you’re probably more interested in when you have it is how to make it stop! Though some women with the condition merely feel mild nausea, others have such severe symptoms they have trouble getting through the day.

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Morning sickness is really a misnomer for the vomiting and nausea that affects more than 75% of pregnant women. It usually stops after the first 3 months after conception, but sometimes it continues throughout the pregnancy. Some women find that nausea hits at any time of the day or night. Others report feeling worse in the evening, after a long day at work. Some say that certain smells trigger it.

Typically, morning sickness begins around the sixth week of pregnancy—about the same time the placenta begins serious production of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a pregnancy hormone. In most women, symptoms peak during the 8th or 9th week and usually subside after the 13th week. Knowing that it’s temporary isn’t a complete source of comfort, though. Research has found that 25% of pregnant women have such extreme nausea and vomiting that they take time off from work. More than half become depressed or have difficulties with their relationships because of morning sickness.

The good news about this upsetting condition: Nausea and vomiting are associated with a greater chance of successful pregnancy, according to Tekoa King, CNM, MPH, a certified nurse-midwife. In one study of 411 women, those without morning sickness had more miscarriages and low-birth-weight babies. Another study that combined the results of extensive previous research found a significantly lower risk of miscarriage in women with nausea and vomiting. With that good news in mind, try these morning sickness remedies below so that you can say, “I’ve lost that queasy feeling.”

Experiment

What worked for your sister, your best friend, or the woman down the street may not do it for you. “There are as many remedies as there are women,” says certified nurse-midwife Deborah Gowen, CNM. You may need to try a couple of strategies before you find one right for you.

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Eat The Way Your Baby Eats

The child growing inside you nourishes itself by raiding your bloodstream for glucose 24 hours a day. If you don’t take care how you replenish the supply, your blood sugar levels can drop sharply. Your best tactic, King says, is to switch the way you eat to match how the baby eats: a little bit at a time. Put glucose into your system quickly and easily by eating simple sugars, such as those in fruit. Grapes and orange juice are excellent choices.

Avoid Fried, Fatty Foots

That grilled cheeseburger with onion rings may have looked great to you last week, but you might not want to chance it now. “Anything fried often seems to make pregnant women more nauseated,” King says. The body takes longer to digest such foods, she says, which means they sit in the stomach longer.

Carry Raw Almonds With You

Snacking on almonds fulfills the requirement of small, frequent meals. They contain some fat and some protein, and are high in calcium and potassium. They’re portable, too, and tastier than crackers, Gowen says.

Keep Nibbles On Your Night Table

If almonds don’t appeal to you, or if nausea strikes in the morning, keep crackers by your bed. Moving around on an empty stomach can make you feel worse, says King, who considers morning sickness “one of my many areas of expertise. I’m the ‘vomiting woman’ at work.” So eat something to bring your blood sugar up before you get out of bed in the morning or in the middle of the night. (Here's 9 clean-eating snacks you can make ahead and eat all week.)

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Try Ginger

This herbal remedy is one of the first methods King recommends “when women are having nausea but they’re not throwing up and they’re not dehydrated, and they don’t want to use medication.” She’s seen that it can provide women some relief. Although you can get ginger in tea or cookies, the smell may be a turnoff when you’re nauseous. Instead, try it in capsule form. Take 500 milligrams twice a day or 250 milligrams four times a day, she advises. However, if you’re at risk of hemorrhage, avoid ginger.

Press The Right Spot

Another natural remedy that some women find helpful is pressing a particular acupressure point on your wrist called the P6 point, King suggests. This may simply work as a placebo…but if it works, you’re not likely going to care why. To find the spot, place your fingertip in the center of your wrist—between two tendons—the width of two fingers away from the crease where your palm starts. Press and await relief. As an alternative, you can wear a motion sickness device called Sea Band that puts pressure on the inside of your wrist.

Consider A One-Two Punch

Another solution for nausea is to take half a 25-milligram tablet of Unisom, an over-the-counter sleep aid, in the morning along with 10 milligrams of vitamin B6. In the evening, again take one tablet along with another 10 milligrams of B6, King suggests. This combination recreates a medicine called Benectin, which is no longer available in the United States, she says. Before trying this, ask your doctor if this might be helpful for you.

If You're Taking Prenatal Vitamins, Check With Your Doctor

In some instances, they can make you sick to your stomach, Gowen says. Your doctor or midwife may be able to switch you to a different brand or a chewable vitamin that won’t upset your stomach.

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Trust Your Body's Wisdom

“Eat whatever appeals to you, as long as you’re not eating junk,” Gowen says. “Avoid caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and all drugs. But if you crave pasta, then eat it. It really does work when women listen to their bodies.”

Keep Calm

If you continue to put on weight, and dehydration isn’t a problem for you, you’re probably doing just fine. “Women don’t tend to lose beyond what their body stores can handle,” says King. “I think we just don’t know the magic of what goes on inside the mother. My belief is that you can really be fairly ill with morning sickness, yet you can continue nourishing your baby very well.”

Morning Sickness Kitchen Cures

Although the kitchen may be the last room a nauseated, pregnant woman wants to visit, she’ll find several helpful beverages there. Gregory J. Radio, MD, FACOG, recommends drinking small amounts of clear fluids frequently. Clear broth, fruit juice, and herbal teas such as ginger, raspberry leaf, and chamomile fill the bill. Ginger tea is especially known as a superior remedy for morning sickness. “I don’t mean to endorse a product,” he says, but Gatorade is usually superb because it can help maintain your electrolytes—substances that regulate the body’s electrochemical balance.

Try Acupressure Massage

The next time your mate expresses sympathy about your morning sickness, tell him he can do something to help—acupressure massage. Daily allover massage is ideal as a preventive strategy, says Wataru Ohashi, an ohashiatsu teacher. But if your partner won’t go for that, show him these instructions for this quickie technique, which can help in a pinch. Here are the steps for partners to take:

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Have the pregnant woman recline on her right side. Sit behind her, supporting her back with your left leg.

Slip your left arm under hers and grasp her left shoulder.

With your right hand, massage her entire neck 3 times.

Then place your palm against the base of her skull and stretch her head away from her shoulders.

Next, use your thumb to press down her back in the grooves between the left shoulder blade and the spine and then around the perimeter of her shoulder blade out toward her side. Keep the pressure on for 5 to 7 seconds per point. If you find a sore spot, gently give it extra attention.

Slip your thumb as far under her shoulder blade as is comfortable for her. Begin with gentle pressure and let your partner tell you if she wants more pressure. Always use your body weight, not your muscle power.

“The feeling is totally different,” says Ohashi. “If you stimulate the external, you can eliminate the internal discomfort,” says Ohashi. The trigger points you use in this exercise affect the stomach and the hormonal system, he says.

When To Call A Doctor

Consult your physician about your morning sickness if:

You notice you’ve lost a pound or two. Normally, weight gain during pregnancy continues even if you can’t keep all your meals down.

You feel dehydrated or are not urinating.

You find that you can’t keep anything down—no water, no juice, nothing—over a period of 4 to 6 hours.

At its most severe, morning sickness can spiral into a condition doctors call hyperemesis gravidarum. Left untreated, it can disturb the essential electrolyte balance in your body, cause pulse irregularities, and, in its severest form, damage the kidneys and liver. Women with hyperemesis gravidarum are usually hospitalized overnight and treated with an intravenous solution of glucose, water, and vitamins, as well as some medications.

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Panel Of Advisors

Deborah Gowen, CNM, is a certified nurse-midwife in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Tekoa King, CNM, MPH, is a nurse-midwife and deputy editor of the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health.

Wataru Ohashi is an internationally known teacher of Ohashiatsu and founder of the Ohashi Institute, a nonprofit organization in New York City.

Gregory J. Radio, MD, FACOG, is chair of primary care in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Milton S. Hershey Medical School of Pennsylvania State University.

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